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SAT1 Late Night 'Dinner Party' Talk Show Produced with URSA Mini Pro

Fremont, CA - September 11, 2017 - Blackmagic Design has announced that a multi camera live production workflow featuring five URSA Mini Pros are being used to shoot “Dinner Party - Marlene lädt zum Talk,” a new late night talk show produced by Good Times Fernsehproduktions-GmbH and broadcasts on one of Germany’s largest television channels, SAT1.

Broadcast specialist CROSSCAST, who was brought in to provide the technical infrastructure and editorial direction for the live talk show, opted to implement a workflow built around the ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher, Smart Videohub 20x20 router and HyperDeck Studio Pro broadcast decks.

“We required a versatile camera package that would allow us to break the mold and produce a show with a unique visual identity,” begins CROSSCAST CEO Jens Wolf. “The URSA Mini Pro combined the best of both worlds. Not only did it offer a significantly higher dynamic range over traditional broadcast solutions but we are also able to retain better management over the color pipeline through the use of LUTs.”

Mounted on a studio pedestal and paired with a URSA Studio Viewfinder and HD B4 lens from Canon or Fujinon, each camera channel has full talkback and tally capabilities. CROSSCAST has also developed a bespoke OCP using Blackmagic’s 3G-SDI Arduino Shield and the ATEM SDK to provide remote camera control solution for color shading.

Relying upon optical fiber each camera channel is routed via a Smart Videohub 20x20 for vision mixing on an ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K switcher. A return PGM feed is then sent back to each operator’s camera position. Also, timecode generators are attached to each camera to help with matching the ISO recording in post production while a rack of HyperDeck Studio Pro broadcast decks records the PGM, PGM safety and clean feeds.

Captured in 1080p25 the live on-air recording is subsequently reviewed, and the warm filmic aesthetic crafted on set is then enhanced using a 3D LUT, created with DaVinci Resolve. The production team then re-edits the show following transmission (TX) into a daily 48-minute package that is made available on their YouTube channel allowing viewers to catch up on demand.

“Blackmagic Design has been the core of our live switching setup for many years now,” explains Wolf. “Not only has it allowed us to achieve broadcast standards at a fraction of the cost, but it also provides the flexibility we need to handle a variety of traditional OB and studio based work.”

He concludes: “Being able to take that a step further and incorporate Blackmagic’s URSA Mini Pro as our chosen solution for acquisition purpose was a natural next step. Not only does it future proof our production capabilities, but it also delivers a very distinct, and unique output that looks great on television. That was especially important for our client.”

Press Photography
Product photos of the URSA Mini Pro, URSA Studio Viewfinder, ATEM 2 M/E Production Studio 4K, HyperDeck Studio Pro and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/media/images. Story photos can be found here.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/au.

About CROSSCAST
Crosscast is a German broadcast company and develops unique workflows for high quality but cost efficient live TV productions named ‘cinematic broadcast workflow’. Its very own products like Blackmagic Camera OCP are available for purchase and CROSSCAST experts provide their knowledge and experience as consultants at your service to support broadcasters and production companies to build complex production environments using Blackmagic products. For more information, please go to www.crosscast.com.

About New Magic Australia Pty Ltd (Australian and New Zealand Blackmagic Design master distributor)
New Magic Australia Pty Ltd is a recognised leader in the distribution and marketing of multimedia hardware and software, representing a carefully selected range of innovative, leading manufacturers and catering for both the professional and consumer markets. New Magic Australia established in 1993 is the Australian distributor of Blackmagic Design, Convergent Design, Hauppauge Computer Works Inc, Cubix and Matrox Video products. www.newmagic.com.au.